"Thank you, Kay. I really enjoyed your energy, ideas and passion for women, music and dance!"
- Aleedra, from Roy, Washington, attendee at Oasis Dance Camp West, 2007

Folkloric Music and Dance: The Gulf and Saudi Arabia have a rich tradition of many varieties of folk song and dance. Women of these countries have their own traditional dances and songs, that they perform in groups to celebrate occasions such as weddings, school graduations and national holidays. Kay has written numerous articles about the folk music and folk dance of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. See Publications for a sample of her work.

For authentic video clips of Gulf women doing their traditional dances, see Kay's Blog.

In addition to writing about these arts, Kay has taught seminars and classes in the Gulf women's folkloric dances (Khaliji or Khaleeji dance) across the U.S. to women at dancer-sponsored events as well as at academic institutions including MIT, Agnes Scott College, Wellesley College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She has been the folkloric dance instructor at Oasis Dance Camp four times and is currently a faculty member of the Arab Dance Seminar.

While Kay doesn't perform these folk dances in public, she has coached and choreographed group dances for professional performers including Boston's Near East Dance Theatre, Libana and the Jawaahir Dance Company of Minneapolis. Kay teaches these dances to share the joyous celebrations of Arabian women's traditional culture with women in the West by letting them experience it firsthand through music and dance.

"I was so inspired by Kay Hardy Campbell's stories of the Saudi women's music ensembles and her own oud playing at the seminar, that I came back to CA, found an oud and a local teacher, and have since joined an Arabic music class and ensemble, which I performed with for the first time this summer. I can honestly say my life has taken a whole new direction that it never would have otherwise, because of the contacts I made and the knowledge I gained at that seminar." - Suzanne Cuzio, Santa Cruz, CA, attendee at the 2006 Arab Dance Seminar

Recent and upcoming classes:

October 7-8, 2011 - Beach Blanket Beledi - Nags Head, NC, sponsored by Chelydra for information visit Chelydra's website.

March, 2012 - Khaliji seminar in Boston - details coming soon.

November, 2012 - Arab Dance Seminar - Los Angeles, details TBA - check back at the website.

Please contact Kay if you are interested in a group class for women in Khaliji dance.